The University of Sydney VC responds to a former local resident whose letter was published on the SSH website last month. We include both letters here.
Dear Dr Spence,
As Vice Chancellor of the University of Sydney, you have said on a number of occasions that the University is “ashamed” of being a bad neighbour of residential Darlington.
So what exactly are you doing to address this shame and to become a good neighbour?
I invite you to have a look at the map below – it shows the interface between the university and residential Darlington along Shepherd Street.
Note that on the university side of the street we have what amounts to an almost continuous wall of bulky in-your-face buildings ranging in appearance from prosaic to downright disgraceful.
The multilevel Darlington carpark deserves a special mention as it must surely be Sydney’s ugliest human-made structure.
These monoliths bear down on the picturesque heritage-precinct Victorian terraces and their occupants on the other side of Shepherd Street and indeed on much of the rest of Darlington.
You will also note that at about the midpoint on the university side of the street we have a welcome break in this sea of architectural mediocrity – the lovely Darlington Tree Grove, consisting of 19 mature native Tallowwood trees.
Dr Spence, would a good neighbour who is endeavouring to improve relations with his fellow neighbours make the neighbourhood worse off by destroying a substantial grove of trees, much loved by the local community, and then replace it with yet another building overlooking the neighbourhood? I think not.
The residents of Darlington must live with the consequences of the university’s territorial expansionism on a daily basis. Enough is enough.
With all due respect, your admission of shame in the dealings of the university with the Darlington community appear to be doublespeak because your words are not in accordance with your actions.
At 72 hectares, the university campus is vast – please find a more appropriate space for your building and spare the Darlington Grove from destruction.
John Berry
Cammeray NSW
Former resident of Calder Road, Darlington
Dear Mr Berry,
I write in response to your open letter of January 14, detailing your concerns about the construction of our new teaching resource and facility for our Engineering staff and students and the potential loss of trees.
We deeply value our surrounding community and never undertake such endeavours lightly. As such, we began community consultation back in 2014 in relation to our Campus Improvement Program (CIP) 2014-2020, of which this building is a part.
In November we also invited members of the community to a briefing on the project. As the university already has approval for the building envelope, we were not required to undertake this action but wanted to be transparent with our neighbours about our plans.
We share our community’s appreciation of our campus’ trees and fauna, and consequently have adjusted the building plans to allow for as many as eight Tallowwood trees to remain. We also have plans to plant at least 35 trees as part of the area’s redevelopment, overall increasing the net canopy coverage of trees on campus.
Unfortunately, there is no other location on campus for this facility that will serve the logistic and study needs of our Engineering students. However, the design of the building does allow for linkages and open line of sight into the campus, which was also informed by previous comments from the community.
We are also currently in discussions with the City of Sydney Council in relation to landscaping along Shepherd Street. Community consultation will be undertaken, with the Council leading this process and arranging events and issuing invitations.
Our role is to create a place where world-class researchers and the most promising students can tackle the problems of the future, and we need to ensure our facilities are updated to achieve this. We also recognise that we are part of a wider community and we invite everyone to come onto campus to enjoy our grounds and facilities.
We deeply value our neighbours and I welcome all ongoing discussions of our operations and plans.
Dr Michael Spence
Vice-Chancellor and Principal
The University of Sydney
